I think it's because love has disappointed him too many times...

[blackruzsa]

So power is all he looks to.

4 scans from Daken #9, with some sniktling bonding time! The last of it.













"Maybe I don't have a heart, Laura. Maybe power is all I have.

All I need."


I wish Laura could make him understand more. Anyway, at least at the end we get another moment of Daken being nice to kids. That's probably the only bit of decency and general goodness he's managed consistently in... ever.

Comments

[drmcninja]

This is a great character dynamic they have going. Both genetic masterpieces, both so similar in upbringing, but both holding such different beliefs as superlative. And both making great arguments about it. I would like X to stay with Daken for a bit, we could get some great development out of the both of them.

Also, what is Elektra doing there?

[blackruzsa]

Heheh, that's Tyger, not Elektra.

And yeah, now that they're parting ways, I wish they'd have a few more meetups in the near future.

[sevarem]

Wow, Daken's coming off as... really cliched. His dialogue reads like a paint-by-numbers villain. Quite honestly, I expected more here. Nice visual where they're both going ka-boom, but the dialogue is just painful.

[stolisomancer]

Daken's real superpower is making his writer think he's reciting a deep, soulful monologue.

[sevarem]

Quite so.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

And to convince the writer that Daken's actually clever, instead of just making everyone around him stupid.

[stolisomancer]

Under Liu's pen, he's actually not bad at manipulation and playing a long game, but his inner monologue makes me want to keep punching him until something in his skull goes DING and I win a teddy bear.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm still waiting for him to do something clever or not cliche. All he ever seems to do is stab people in the back (most who have little reason to trust him), or use the most obvious means possible (like threatening family members).

And what makes it even worse is we don't know what's him, and what's his stupid pheremone powers.

[sevarem]

And I've yet to see what the *point* of the character is either. If he's supposed to be a straight up villain, fine, I can go with that. If he's supposed to be on a twisted redemption quest, even better. As it stands right now, he just seems to wander from place to place, spouting ham fisted dialogue meant to show the reader how dark and clever he is. And it's... just not working.

[stolisomancer]

The point appears to be Angsty Bisexual Main Character + Dark Twisted Past + Dark Twisted Present + Crossover Audience from Best-Selling Romance Novelist Marjorie Liu = Dark Wolverine. There's a certain kind of fan for whom a character like Daken is chocolate-covered crack rocks, and that fan is almost never approached in the mainstream comics industry.

It's an odd approach and I'm glad they're taking it if only because it's such a weird book in today's market, but the book's never really appealed to me.

[sevarem]

Yeah, I can see that and I certainly don't begrudge the readers who are really enjoying the book and the character. It's just that I found him to be so much fun in Dark Avengers that it's really disappointing to see a fun, snarky character turned into a character who spouts clunkers like "caring is a weakness!" I'm waiting for him to strike a pose and shout "the weak are food for the strong!" or something.

[blackruzsa]

He needs to be around other people to be more fun. This solitude thing is not going well for him.

IDK what's gonna happen but I'm scared now; he's going to Hollywood.

[blackruzsa]

I guess I liked him too much in the past to quit him, but even I have to say Daken's character is doing rollovers into one thing or another that people don't like.

[blackruzsa]

Yeah, in the end, where there should have been insight, there wasn't much the conversation led to beyond what we already knew.

[sherkahn]

It's because when he's being honest, Daken is empty inside. Actually, both of them are. Laura is trying hard to better herself and fill her emotional core with other things to draw strength and joy from other than the abuse and pain of others. Daken "retreats" to that state when anything comes close to getting through his emotional armor, clawing away at anything that dares get close to him. Only when he seems to be using others does he pretend to be vulnerable.

[blackruzsa]

... yes, this.

[sevarem]

That may be so, and based on what else I've read with Daken, I believe that. But that's still no excuse for poorly written, stilted dialogue that reads like a ham fisted attempt at DARKNESS.

[blackruzsa]

Well already they're changing writers, so with any luck we'll get better monologue?

[sevarem]

Unless we get Dan Slott writing. ;)

[blackruzsa]

Rob Williams. :)

[sevarem]

Rob Liefield...

[generator_rex]

Last thought for Colcord: "Well Malcom, you always wanted go out with a bang."

[blackruzsa]

Sad part is, he didn't go.....

[cainofdreaming]

He's got his face, or is it whole body this time, messed up by two relatives of Wolverine? The guy can't catch a break, can he?

Not that he deserves one. Heck, Hate-Monger is more likely to earn one before him.

[blackruzsa]

It's like in prison, child killers are the lowest of the low.

[likeaminx]

That explosion page is so BEAUTIFUL. I want it as my wallpaper.

Loved the bonding. Wish for it to happen again, though I doubt it will because comics hate us.

[blackruzsa]

Quite :D That art!

[selke]

I had the exact same thought. I want to at least get it on my phone. So pretty.

[harpers_child]

it's a watchmen tribute explosion. that's so cute.

[blackruzsa]

Ain't it pretty?

[shadowpsykie]

okay really squicky... conscidering that Laura is a female clone of his father she is kinda his mother/sister? (god how does that even work...) but a very small, dark twisted part kind ships them based on these pages....

but a bigger part of me ships daken with johnny and gambit :D

[funbox]

The only way I could see Daken and Gambit is Gambit waking up with a giant hangover with no memory of what happened, looks over to his other side and just seeing Daken with the biggest grin he can manage

[shadowpsykie]

i would TOTALLY pay for that :D

[blackruzsa]

Or, you know, hatesex.
Almost happened, too.

[joasakura]

the what now? :Perks:

[blackruzsa]

Oh, you know, the mad hot flirting in the last.... well, anyway. :}
I do believe I posted about it before?

[sherkahn]

Let's just say Aunt and call it even.

[schala_kid]

In the comic Gambit mentioned questioned their relationship and said something along the lines of Laura being like his mother, Daken didn't take kindly to that comment though (because Daken's mother is a touchy topic to him).

IMO since Wolverine kinda adopted her as his kid, I'm guessing sister would be the right choice of words now.

[thosefew]

They should move apart or their rapid healing might fuse them together.

[sadoeuphemist]

Oh euughhhh damn you for that mental image

[blackruzsa]

They'd just hack apart again, but that's a nifty idea.

[proteus_lives]

That would be Two-Bad.

Mecha-Nerd points if you get it.

[tsunamiwombat]

Lets close on a shot with them with NO skin but throw in some chicks ass, just cause.

Classy.

[ravenous_raven]

Yeah, I thought so too. Never just you! We can focus on the dialogue if we don't want to look at the skin-less figures, using a barely-covered-butt is just ham-fisted.

[tsunamiwombat]

Usually i'm all for nekkid butt too. But cheesecake just seems starkely out of place here.

[blackruzsa]

Well, at this point, near everyone comes out naked so....

[blackruzsa]

..... it grows back fast?
Okay, feeble, IDK I thought the hair would still be burning.

[rainspirit]

Kind of amazed Laura's hair stayed on when her skin didn't. Are her shining dark locks fire-retardant or something? o_O

[schala_kid]

I kind of like that in the end he was sincere to her, no more games and other crap he pulls on people, and he talked for the first time in a long time to someone he thought of as an equal. Also I think Daken initially wanted to play her and Malcolm Colcord but somewhere along the way he just went along with her. And I really loved the part where he took his mask for a moment while she was mourning the Weapon X creatures she just killed, kind of felt a bit intimate.

But he really is emotionally stunted because he likes her yet he can't comprehend it. Nevertheless the ending reminds us he still is a grade A bastard (he decieves Laura by keeping Colcord alive even if it's just to torture him and the way he acts is like nothing happened).

Overall I really, really, enjoyed this and I hope that we have another Laura and Daken team up very soon (Wouldn't mind Logan being in it).

[blunderbuss]

I got to 'caring is a weakness' and eyerolled so hard that my eyeballs fell out. Now I am blind.

But seriously? If any writer, anywhere, writes that line with total seriousness, then I propose that someone should hit their writing hand with a heavy paperweight. STOP THAT SHIT.

[sevarem]

Yeah, Daken's ham fisted dialogue is pretty cringe worthy. And yet, I keep wanting to like him because I loved the hell outta him in Dark Avengers.

[proteus_lives]

They should have their own series where they travel to quirky little towns and solve mysteries.

[eyz]

Daken's just a big emo kid with a 80s mohawk :P
Is it only me or is the bonding between Wolverine-clone X-23 and Daken a bit...err..akward? I mean, really.

[blackruzsa]

O'course, not that we expected any less.
It's infinitely better than the last time, though, when they, you know, just tried to kill each other and didn't just talk.

[eyz]

That's what I'd expect from the "Wolverines". Yep, that's what I'm calling them.
Batman has the Bat-clan, Supes the Superman-family. Logan got the WOOOOOLVERIIIIIINES!!